At the start of the Spring 2023 semester, the International Student Program (ISP) hosted a New Student Welcome, welcoming over 70 new international students from different parts of the world. Skyline College Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Vinicio Lopez, and Interim Dean of Global Learning Programs and Services, Zaid Ghori, opened the event. Following that, ISP staff members were introduced: Clair Yeo-Sugajski (Acting Program Manager), Sirreck Brown (Detail Retention Specialist), Carlos Romero (Counselor), and the student ambassadors.
ISP student ambassadors led an icebreaker activity, Bingo, to help the new international students get to know each other better. Each student was given a bingo sheet and walked around the room asking each other questions on the bingo sheet. They were allowed to ask the same person up to two questions. The first three winners received a prize. The second game was an F1 immigration regulation “Kahoot,” which required students to answer questions correctly and quickly. The top three winners of the game each received a prize too. Finally, the students participated in a campus tour scavenger hunt. Every group had to locate offices such as the ISP Office, the Library, the Learning Center, Admission and Records, Health Center, Bookstore, and Building 12 using hints, a campus map provided on a piece of paper, and with the guidance of a student ambassador.
After the scavenger hunt, the new students came back to Fireside Dining Room and had lunch together while listening to a presentation by Kari Mendoza, a Risk Strategies representative, on their health insurance. Overall, the New Student Welcome was a huge success as most of the students said that they had fun and they were able to make new friends at Skyline College.
The International Student Program is part of the Global Learning Programs and Services Division at Skyline College. For more information about ISP, please contact Clair Yeo-Sugajski, Acting International Program Manager at yeoc@smccd.edu.
Article by Lasheana Husni Dilian | Photo by Kelly Li